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Home , Pioneer Zephyr, Ralph Budd, Streamliner

NEWSLETTER See our Web page at http://www.rcgrs.com/ May 2006

A Note from the Barbara for hosting that fun--filled afternoon at Vice--President Jeff Lange your wonderful home in Vancouver! Our next open house/business meeting is on Satur- Dear Members of the RCGRS: day, May 13th, at Dennis and Carolyn Rose’s home. I am writing this message this month to help out our Please check the newsletter for times and what to club President, whose father just passed away. I am bring for lunch. happy to help any club member out at anytime, and Member Roster: Some members have not paid their I was happy to fill in for Darrel at this time. Please dues for 2006. We still want them to remain mem- send him your regards and condolences for the loss bers of our club, and to please submit their annual of his father. Darrel has been by his dad’s side for dues to the treasurer, Steve Cogswell, as soon as the last month or so, and was with him right to the possible. Only those who have paid their current very end. dues will have access to the member’s area of the Website and will continue receiving the Newsletter. In the meantime, we have had two great open houses just recently, and I was fortunate enough to Diesel Engines of 1930 have been able to attend both. The first one was held at Quinn Mountain, on the afternoon of The Electro--Motive Corporation (EMC) was Sunday, March 26th. Both Christina and Bud put on created by Harold Hamilton in 1924. The company a marvelous open house and potluck, and have real- was little more than a letterhead and a rented office. ly done some wonderful improvements to their out- By 1930, the EMC offices were located at the Win- door railroad. See the recent April Newsletter for ton Engine Company facilities. Winton and EMC pictures of their place, and an article on their garden had developed a symbiotic relationship. The St. railroad. Thank you both for hosting such a lovely Louis Car Company built most of the early car bod- event at the ever beautiful Quinn Mountain Resort! ies for the motor cars, but EMC slowly shifted to The second open house/planning session was last the as the preferred supplier. Saturday, April 22nd at Jerry and Barbara Clark’s Branch line service was the first area to suffer from home. They hosted a potluck/planning session the emerging transportation modes, especially the combination, and several members gathered at development of “all--weather” roads for the auto- their lovely home to ’brainstorm’ different ways to lay out a future garden railroad to traverse in front mobile. The railroads were locked into continuing of and beside their lovely water feature that is the the unprofitable service. Once a railroad guaran- centerpiece of their backyard paradise. Many ideas teed service by acquiring a right of way, it was a were shared, and lots of walking around and ‘figur- small concession for the railroad to be the sole ing out where to put it’ went into the afternoon. means of access for freight, mail, and passengers. Jerry meanwhile, was grilling up delicious Polish As demand waned and costs increased, this conces- hotdogs and cheeseburgers while the ‘right--of-- sion grew into a large liability. way’ inspector Barbara was telling us what she would like to see someday. The day was perfect, The motor cars manufactured by EMC, Brill, with light east winds, and bright sunshine. After the Budd, and GE indicated to the railroads that there planning sessions and lunch was over, several might be solutions to the high cost of steam for members retired to Jerry’s ‘Movie Room’ and serving branch lines that no longer generated watched DVD’s of several different tourist rail- enough traffic to pay for itself, much less turn a roads on their BIG screen T.V. Thank you Jerry and profit. (Except for the later EMC motor cars, most

1 of the motor cars had either gasoline or distillate was the CB&Q’s president and made motors.) Could a light weight be developed a decision to create a train with potential to revolu- that would have more capability than a motor car, tionize railroad passenger service in the Depths of but be economical enough to reduce costs on the . The CB&Q (Burlington branch line service? Route) was already operating more than 50 motor cars on its branch lines and local main line service. In 1929, decided that there was go- In 1933, Ralph Budd chose the Edward G. Budd ing to be a large market for diesel powered locomo- Manufacturing Company (no relation) of Philadel- tives in the near future. The easiest way for a com- phia to design a lightweight train using stainless pany to enter a new market is to purchase another steel and their newly patented “Shot--Weld” pro- company that has the expertise, engineering and cess. The train was to be distinctive and the design manufacturing facilities for that market. GM had team wasgiven wide latitude on the design. The cri- the deep pockets needed to purchase the Winton teria wanted by the CB&Q was a light weight train Engine Company and EMC in 1930. More than 400 powered by a , capable of speeds in motor cars had been “built” by EMC by the time its excess of 100 mph, equipped with a Railway Post completion of purchase in 1932. GM changed Office compartment, space for 25 tons of baggage EMC into an integrated builder and express freight, and coach seating for approxi- and changed the name to the Electro--Motive Divi- mately 70 passengers. It was up to the Edward G. sion. GM started development of a more powerful Budd design team to meet the criteria. and efficient two--cycle diesel engine, but this en- gine development takes some time. What was lacking for the design was a suitable en- gine. Ralph Budd saw two GM/Winton 201 diesels (Note: Remember the close association between being fabricated at the Cleveland Diesel Division diesel powered locomotives and diesel powered for the 1933 “ Exposition” and submarines? GM/Winton used this same diesel tried to buy one for his “”. If Budd had technology and also created the Cleveland Diesel known how balky GM’s Winton 201 engine was Division to serve the U.S. navy. One of the first die- and its recurring maintenance problems, he might sels delivered to the navy by the Cleveland Diesel not have been so enthusiastic. However, GM as- Division was the Winton 201A.) sured Ralph Budd that they would have an im- (Note: The exceptional life and career of Alexander proved model ready for him in about a year that he Winton is an amazing but little known story. The could install in his new train. Mr. Budd took it on story is well worth telling at a future date.) faith that GM would deliver and stand behind their reputation to make it good. The resulting engine At this point in engine development, Winton had was the Winton 201A. developed an 8--cylinder in--line distillate engine for locomotive use. However, a maximum of about The 1934 was successful beyond 800 hp seemed a ceiling for an engine size that their wildest dreams. The operating costs for the could be put into a railroad car body. Since the GM Zephyr was 34.2 cents per mile versus 63.7 cents engine was not ready, GM had the Winton design per mile for the steam it replaced. Because of converted to a two--cycle diesel operation and add- their lower center of gravity, the Zephyr could take ing a Roots blower as the Winton 201 (approxi- curves 20 percent faster than a conventional train mately 600 hp @ 750 rpm). Two--cycle diesels had and run at more than 90 mph for extended periods. been around for a few years, but they were large, Because of its faster speed and lower maintenance, cumbersome, unreliable, and unsuited for railroad the Zephyr replaced two steam trains. The Zephyr use. GM/Winton’s design was to be relatively light was often sold out months ahead. People were will- weight and intended to supplant the gasoline and ing to stand in the aisles rather than accept a seat on distillate engines then in use. a conventional steam train.

2 The Winton 201 Diesel Engine and Generator System in action at the 1933--1934 “Century of Progress Exposition in

For publicity and a demonstration of its capability, opening of the second year “Century of Progress the Zephyr departed the Union Station at Exposition” stage in Chicago. The run used a little 5:05 a.m. on May 26, 1934 and sped 1000 miles over 400 gallons of diesel fuel from a 600 gallon non--stop to arrive 14 hours later at 8:09 p.m. at the tank (at 18 cents/gallon). The little train ran in ser-

3 vice until 1960. The CB&Q purchased nine of the man chose the Winton V12--191A (600 hp) distil- Zephyrs in various train lengths between 1934 and late engine for the . This engine, because 1938. of its poor efficiency and high maintenance, was one of the fatal flaws in the design of the M--10000. In 1938, the CB&Q made an agreement with the operating unions that it would not purchase any From the National Public Radio, “American Expe- more trains of the design. The rience”: problems with the design were: In some ways, the M--10000 was revolutionary. S the motor man was at the level of any in- Made of aluminum alloy, the three cars together tersection collision and there was no es- weighed only 85 tons; a conventional 10--car steam cape. Any collision was fatal. train weighed roughly 1,000 tons. The fully loaded S because of the low front seat, the motor train — 116 passengers and crew members, 25,000 man was subject “road hypnosis” when pounds of baggage and mail — needed 500 horse- running at night. power to achieve a speed of 90 miles per hour; a conventional train, 4,500 horsepower. The engine S The train rode on articulated and itself was lighter, as was the entire power plant, in- the whole train had to be removed from cluding the auxiliary backup engine (20 tons as op- service if there was a problem in one of posed to a whopping 316 tons on a conventional the cars. train). Furthermore, the distillate fuel, stored in In 1932, the Pullman Company built a demonstra- tanks in the floor, could carry the new train 1,200 tor motorcar called the “Railplane”. It could be miles without stopping for water or refueling. This called the first “streamliner”. It was designed by was 12 times the distance a conventional passenger William B. Stout, an aeronautical engineer and the train could run on a load of coal. designer of the Ford Tri--Motor airplane. It had a tu- The decor, too, was created with comfort and effi- bular frame and an aluminum skin. The 60--foot ciency in mind: indirect lighting, pale colors, cork motorcar weighed only 12.5 tons, about one tenth tile on floors to absorb sound. Even the items on the weight of a typical passenger of the same board kept the train’s weight down: standard china year. It did 90 mph in tests and was tried out in ser- service for a passenger train tipped the scales at vice for a short time. It was not a commercial suc- 530 pounds, but streamliner crockery was made cess, but it was displayed at the “Century of Prog- from a new lightweight material that weighed only ress Exposition” where it attracted the attention of 189 pounds. W. Averill Harriman, chairman of the board for the Union Pacific.

Harriman liked what he saw in the Railplane as a basis for a possible “supertrain”; a fast, light, novel However, the M--10000 had several fatal flaws. in appearance passenger train that could replace “While visually attractive and able to run at rapid those costly and high maintenance steam trains. speeds, the M--10000 did not match the Zephyr in The new “supertrain” design became the Union Pa- terms of state--of--the--art technology,” notes histo- cific M--10000. Mr. Harriman wanted to beat Ralph rian Mark Reutter.“The Zephyr used the first high-- Budd to market with his new train. When he found speed diesel engine, which was the forerunner of all that the diesel motor was not ready yet, Mr. Harri- modern locomotives, while the M--10000 used a

4 less--efficient distillate oil engine. The Zephyr’s can use it as a simple tool to establish grades. construction was perfect for high-- Grades are expressed in percents which are also speed rail travel, while the M--10000’s aluminum written as a decimal. The decimal is the form we sheathing proved problematic and the train was use and by multiplying by five we have the amount scrapped in 1940.” needed to put under one rod of the sine bar to estab- lish the grade we desire. Simply raise or lower the Following the wild success of the M--10000, Union amount of feeler gages until the bubble in the level Pacific added nine more to its fleet is centered. The chart below has the math done for over the next seven years. Though it was always you. technologically imperfect, and in fact was retired from service by 1940, (and scrapped for the war ef- Grade Gage fort during WWII) the M--10000 had accomplished 1 /4% = 0.0025 = 0.0125 Harriman’s goal of reviving his company’s for- 1 /2% = 0.0050 = 0.0250 tunes, and it had also injected excitement and 3 /4% = 0.0075 = 0.0375 glamour into rail travel. “They really don’t run this 1% = 0.0100 = 0.0500 Union Pacific train,” one awestruck observer of 1 1 /4% = 0.0125 = 0.0625 the M--10000 said. “They just aim and fire it.” 1 1 /2% = 0.0150 = 0.0750 3 Next month: The GM--567 sounds the death knell 1 /4% = 0.0175 = 0.0875 for steam locomotives. 2% = 0.0200 = 0.1000 1 2 /4% = 0.0225 = 0.1125 1 Measuring Grades 2 /2% = 0.0250 = 0.1250 3 Contributed by Bill Dippert 2 /4% = 0.0275 = 0.1375 3% = 0.0300 = 0.1500 1 The following copy is from a handout from Dave 3 /4% = 0.0325 = 0.1625 1 Sykes many years ago at a NMRA -- PNR conven- 3 /2% = 0.0350 = 0.1750 3 tion. It works for all scales, it is scale independent. 3 /4% = 0.0375 = 0.1875 The only variable is the 5 inches — that represents 4% = 0.4000 = 0.2000 1 the number of inches between the round rods. For 4 /4% = 0.0425 = 0.2125 1 example: if you wanted it longer for G scale, say 12 4 /2% = 0.0450 = 0.2250 3 inches for instance, then you would multiply each 4 /4% = 0.0475 = 0.2375 decimal by 12 instead of 5. This assumes 12 inches 5% = 0.0500 = 0.2500 between each round rod. The rod diameter is not a factor, but the distance between the vertical cent- RCGRS Officers erline of the two rods is a critical measurement. President, Darrel Dunham 503--697--4738 [email protected] Vice President, Jeff Lange 360--696--0799 [email protected] Secretary, Barbara Clark 360--737--0176 [email protected] Treasurer, Steve Cogswell 503--650--4682 [email protected] Yardmaster, Gary Lee 503--695--2550 [email protected] Newsletter Editor, Allan R. Warrior This device is known to machinists as a sine bar and 503--648--8112 [email protected] if we ignore a small difference between the trig Webmaster, Allan S. Warrior functions sine and tangent at these small angles, we [email protected]

5 Schedules & Timetables July 22--23, 2006, Saturday & Sunday, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., RCGRS Summer Tour: Coor- Make sure you check the calendar on our Website dinator is Bill Derville. Help is needed from all at http://www.rcgrs.com/ for the most up--to--date members. schedules and timetables. August 12, 2006, Saturday: Open house at Bill Anyone interested in having an Open House or and Brenda Derville’s. The annual auction is sponsoring an event, please contact Donald Gol- planned for this date. gert at 360--896--1778 or grammabob@wa-- September 9 -- 10, 2006, Saturday and Sunday: net.com. A goal for 2006 is to always have one Open house at Jeff Lange’s. Third Quarter business open house or event on the second Saturday of the meeting on Sunday. month. The other events or open houses can “float” on any of the dates in the month. September 17, 2006, Sunday: Open house at Gary and Jonette Lee’s. May 13, 2006, Saturday, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.: Open--house at Dennis & Carolyn Rose’s, 18325 October 14, 2006, Saturday, 4 -- 9 p.m.: Open Jaylee St. Beaverton, OR, 503--649--4904. It is House at Shannon and Millie Pratt’s. Dennis’ birthday (no presents). Main dish and des- October 28, 2006, Saturday, 5 -- 10 p.m.: Open sert by the hosts. Single attendees --snacks are wel- house at Allan & Kathryn Warrior’s. Halloween come. Couple attendees --salads are welcome. Sec- trains and night themes. ond quarterly business meeting. November 11, 2006, Saturday: RCGRS Annual June 10, 2006, Saturday: laying party at Banquet. Steve & Mimi Cogswell’s, 17520 Holly Lane, City, 503--650--4682 December 8, 2006, Friday: Open house at Jan & Rae Zweerts’. (Christmas Ships) July 3 -- 9, 2006, National Garden Railway Convention, Santa Clara, : Editor’s Note: The deadline for the June Web Site: www.bagrs.org/convention/index.html newsletter is May 25, 2006.

Publicity photo by the CB&Q extolling its first diesel powered trains, trucks, and busses. The experimental LaSalle automobile in the foreground is also diesel powered.

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